It almost sounds like the set up to a “guy walks into a bar” joke — or maybe a knock-knock joke — but the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank made an assessment of his own political ideology that can’t help but draw a laugh.

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As WaPo columnist Howard Kurtz reports, Milbank is being moved to the Post’s editorial pages. But it is what Milbank said of himself that amuses.

“Anybody reading my column would make an informed judgment that I’m left-of-center, and I wouldn’t quarrel with that,” he says. “But strongly ideological people on the left do not recognize me as one of their own.”

I see. So because the wholly whacked-out fringe of the far, far left (see the Communist Party USA, George Soros, or MoveOn.orgers) don’t consider him a sufficiently whacked out, moonbat to suit them… then what, Dana?

Is that supposed to be some sort of mitigating factor for Milbank? He admits to being a leftist, but because the most fringeworthy left doesn’t accept him are we supposed to slap him on the back and welcome him to the right side of the aisle?

The fact is he’s still a leftist ideologue and his work should be taken as that of a leftist ideologue, no matter whether he isn’t left enough for the left-wing fringe.

But let’s have some fun with Milbank’s distinction-without-a-difference style of reasoning. Let’s take his logic and see what other situations we can excuse using it… (more…)